One of the photographers for the event at Plymouth which will see fleet and match racing of these impressive 45 foot catamarans with wings gave the NFA an exclusive insight.
C: So Gareth you have been inside the camp from the first arrival, what is going on?
G: All of the teams have now arrived and all launched except Oracle. Oracle will go in on Friday. Hot news from the week was the capsize of GreenComm Racing on Monday, causing minor damage to the the top of the wing and keeping them off the water for a couple of days. Team Korea skippered by Chris Draper with 60% British crew have been out practising all week. They nearly lost one crewman earlier this week with a near man over board and significant shoulder injury. The hot favourites are Oracle Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand but all the other teams are closing in fast.
C: Out on the water these boats look pretty impressive, have you managed to keep up?
G: We were out today in 15 knots of wind on a rib and at times we were recording 30 knots and really struggling to keep up! I think we can say they’re PDQ.
C: Do these boats have a limit, the forecast isn’t great on Sunday?
G: The weather is forecast to be quite breezy leaving a question mark on whether racing will take place fro Sunday. The remainder of the week is breezy but we should get to see good racing. The racing limit is 33 knots but the sailors say around 30 things get quite hairy.
C: What’s the racing format?
G: The first weekend is a warm up practice only. Wed – Fri there will be 3 fleet races followed by match racing to decide daily winner. The results from these three days dictate the match racing championship on Saturday. On SUnday a longer fleet race brings all boats back in. However one of the exciting events is going to be the 500m speed course on the opening Saturday. With 20 plus knots forecast this could prove to be quite interesting!!!
C: For people not lucky enough to be here where should they go for coverage?
G: Don’t rely on the TV. As I’m sure you know in this country sailing coverage is pretty lacking. Sky TV will do a daily highlights and ITV4 will have a programme next Sunday. For live coverage it will be streamed as it happens on America’s Cup channel on U Tube. Official website is www.americascup.com. My pictures will be on www.flickr.com/photos/gdevans/collections
C: For those lucky enough to be here what’s the best vantage point?
G: Depending on wind direction. In a Southerly the finish line will be close in to Plymouth Hoe. In South Westerly the Mount Batten Break water and a Westerly on Jenny Cliff near Plymstock. However on the Hoe there will be live video coverage and comentary. The Hoe will also feature Live Bands and Entertainment such as Newton Faulkner, Seth Lakeman and Fisherman’s Friends.
Give us 48hrs and we’ll have some pictures for you
OK maybe look at photo library and I’ll add asap to this link!!